Electrical junction boxes are commonly used to establish and conceal electrical connections between electrical components such as lights and light switches. Junction boxes are frequently mounted in ceilings, under floors, behind access panels in domestic or commercial buildings. Junction boxes may be embedded in a wall or floor and may include built-in terminals for connecting wiring to the electrical components.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a typical conventional junction box installation 100 includes an electrical junction box 101 having rear or side orifices 104 on a rear or side wall 101a of the junction box 101, respectively, through which wires (not shown) extend into and out of the junction box 101. In the walls of a building, the wires may be sheathed inside a flex cord 110. An end connector 106 may be attached to the end of the flex cord 110 by a screw 114. The flex cord 110 may be attached to the junction box 101 by installation of the end connector 106 in one of the orifices 104. This may be accomplished by, for example, inserting a threaded, end portion 108 of the end connector 106 through the orifice 104 until a stop flange 109 on the end connector 106 engages an exterior surface 102 of the wall 101a of the junction box 101, and then threading and tightening a nut 112 on the end portion 108 against an interior surface 103 of the wall 101a of the junction box 101.
Electrical junction boxes 101 often include a pair of disparately-sized rear orifices, for instance a smaller orifice 104 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and a larger orifice 105 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. For instance, the smaller orifice 104 may have a ½ -inch (1.27 cm) diameter, whereas the larger orifice 105 may have a ¾ -inch (1.905 cm) diameter.
The junction box 101 is often initially installed with fewer electrical components than its capacity (e.g., a single switch); thus, fewer incoming and outgoing wires are required. In such cases, the smaller orifice 104 may be generally used, and a suitable smaller diameter flex cord end connector 106 may attached to the junction box 101 at the smaller orifice 104.
In the event that additional wires subsequently need to be connected to the junction box 101 (e.g., to install an additional switch), it may be necessary to use the larger orifice 105 for this purpose. However, a flex cord end connector that is sized to match the diameter of the larger orifice 105 may not be available. Thus, a smaller-sized end connector 106 which fits the smaller orifice 104 may need to be used instead. Accordingly, a junction box installation 124 may be carried out as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Specifically, a washer 116, a first nut 120 and an inner, non-threaded T-shaped adapter 118 are threaded onto the end portion 108 of the end connector 106 to increase the overall diameter of the threaded, end portion 108. The first nut 120 and a neck portion 109a of the T-shaped adapter 118 are shaped and sized to snugly fit into the larger orifice 105. The smaller end portion 108 of the end connector 106, fitted with the first nut 120 and T-shaped adapter 118, is inserted into the larger orifice 105 and snugly fits into the larger orifice 105. The washer 116 rests against the exterior surface 102 of the wall 101a of the junction box 101 while a flange portion 109b of the T-shaped adapter 118 rests against the interior surface 103 of the wall 101a of the junction box 101. A second nut 122 may then be threaded onto the remaining length of the end portion 108 of the end connector 106 and tightened against the T-shaped adapter 118. This installation technique, however, has several drawbacks. For example, as mentioned heretofore, the first nut 120 should preferably be of sufficient size to fit snugly within the larger orifice 105. This renders the end connector 106 difficult to install. Additionally, the washer 116, the first nut 120 and the adapter 118 may occupy a significant length of the end portion 108 of the end connector 106, leaving a very small portion of the end portion 108 which is available for attaching the second nut 122. Therefore, during installation, the second nut 122 may easily slip off the end portion 108 of the end connector 106, causing the end connector 106 to fall from the orifice 105 into the junction box 101 and requiring that the end connector 106 again be fished back through the orifice 105 and secured therein to attach the flex cord 110 to the junction box 101.
Accordingly, there is an established need for a device or mechanism which facilitates addition of one or more electrical lines to an existing junction box when only a large orifice in the junction box is available and a matching large flex cord and flex cord end connector are not available.